Thread: Hunting packs

All good antsman, I guess your post sums this all up well. That there are many different ways people use their gear and a South Island tops hunter will always have a different need to a north island bush hunter. That people that hunt close to the car/hut/chopper will have a different need than those that walk in and out.

Our favourite roar area is 7-9 hours walk in and out. We also want to bring out as much meat as possible so it means dragging heavy packs out. 9 hours with a 30+kilo pack with a poor performing harness will make you wish that you put all emphasis on how a pack carries its load.

geezus man, 7-9 hours, thats far too far from a pie shop for me!

Hi guys

Interesting discussion

I use a Macpac Ravine. 65l and its bullet proof, at least so far. Decent harness and pretty simple with not too much stuff hanging off it.

Good for an overnighter or up to a week, I do like that with a load on its as comfy as lugging 30kg can be. Biggest load was 2 deer back wheels and back steaks plus gear for a couple of days.

Being from down south I guess my attitude to taking extra stuff to cope with weather and having a great shelter (minaret) and bag might be different from some, been on a couple of trips when we had unforcast snow so always pac a few extra bits of clothing.

My 2 cents

Cheers

Dino

I have a Alps Outdoorz Commander X (not Z)
Its big but very comfortable
The detachable frame allows you to keep all your tools (Knife,GPS ect) all the time.
Down side is that their expensive to get sent to NZ

been looking into meat carrying packs recently after having to haul out 3 animals from a fairly close but very steep area. I can see now that also having 2-3 days gear plus meat will be a problem with my current set up, a bit of weight and some rough terrain really shows up the flaws.

The US guys have some pretty sweet (but a bit pricey) stuff for pack-outs and gear. Looks like the best design have the pack bag detachable from the frame so the heavy meat load can be held close and secure to the frame, then the bag bit straps over holding everything tight. vids have the guys hauling 70+kgs with no failures.... apart from thier legs!

nice all in one designs:
Hunting Packs | Mystery Ranch Backpacks
Packs | Product Categories | Exo Mountain Gear

Then the super customisable and on the "if I ever win Lotto" list VIDEOS - Kifaru International

pretty cool to see some differnt takes on pack design/load carry systems

150+ pounds no problem...

Originally Posted by chris-b

been looking into meat carrying packs recently after having to haul out 3 animals from a fairly close but very steep area. I can see now that also having 2-3 days gear plus meat will be a problem with my current set up, a bit of weight and some rough terrain really shows up the flaws.

The US guys have some pretty sweet (but a bit pricey) stuff for pack-outs and gear. Looks like the best design have the pack bag detachable from the frame so the heavy meat load can be held close and secure to the frame, then the bag bit straps over holding everything tight. vids have the guys hauling 70+kgs with no failures.... apart from thier legs!

nice all in one designs:
Hunting Packs | Mystery Ranch Backpacks
Packs | Product Categories | Exo Mountain Gear

Then the super customisable and on the "if I ever win Lotto" list VIDEOS - Kifaru International

pretty cool to see some differnt takes on pack design/load carry systems

Yeah I like the new age frame packbag idea, For my money I think Stone Glacier looks the best for these.
Those nice frame packs by mystery ranch look really good and reports are that they are bulletproof, but the are bloody heavy, almost 4 kg for the big one.
Thats half my base weight in the bag alone.

Something like the stone glacier solo at around 1.75 kg with up to 80l capacity and still by all reports bullet proof would fit the bill, be a super flexable system without the big weight penalty.

I almost bought the 90L EXO of trade me a while back, was on for silly cheap, before I realised I had no need for a 90l pack

Has anyone considered or tried any of the Aarn packs?http://www.aarnpacks.com/#!page-4/cfvg

Originally Posted by stretch

Has anyone considered or tried any of the Aarn packs?Aarn backpacks, tents, lightweight load carrying

Those Aarn packs sure do look good.

Originally Posted by Freezer

Those Aarn packs sure do look good.

Im prety sure you can buy the frontbag thingies to use with standard packs, be a decent way to bump the capacity of your current system

Originally Posted by Nick-D

Im prety sure you can buy the frontbag thingies to use with standard packs, be a decent way to bump the capacity of your current system

I met a family out tramping when I was hunting and the guy swore by his front bags for redistributing the weight more evenly - they looked like the biz so there's a vote for it out in the field

Originally Posted by 308

I met a family out tramping when I was hunting and the guy swore by his front bags for redistributing the weight more evenly - they looked like the biz so there's a vote for it out in the field

Depends how you harness your binos

Originally Posted by stretch

Has anyone considered or tried any of the Aarn packs?Aarn backpacks, tents, lightweight load carrying

A mate of mine 'Grunter' on the other forum has one and really rates it.

It's interesting that nobody seems to use the hunting brand packs stoney creek, ridge line etc. think I'll end up going with something from macpac in the 70L range. Extra room for all that meat to carry out

I stretched labour weekend out to 5 days and took everything away in my new Eberlestock J34 - loved it. Packed 28kg into it for the walk in and then used it as a daypack each day after leaving all of the non-essentials in the hut. It starts at about 35L and can expand to just north of 130L with an add-on.
It's a bit heavier in terms of a daypack - as it has all the support built in to handle the heavier loads, but that also means it's bloody comfortable to haul around all day. Plenty of room to carry a full load of meat out if you need it too. Rifle sits nicely in the scabbard and frees both hands up.
Definitely recommend